Oneida stabbing suspect arraigned; Competency hearing scheduled

ONEIDA -- It was immediately apparent to the public defender and judge that the man accused of stabbing two people in Oneida on New Year's Day was of questionable mental stability when he appeared in court Friday.

"Hey everybody," 49-year-old Donald E. Menning Jr. said as he was escorted into the Oneida City Courtroom by a Madison County Sheriff's deputy. "Look at the chains they put me in."

Menning, of 311 Main St. in Oneida, appeared before Judge Anthony Eppolito to be arraigned on a charge of second-degree assault, filed after police say he stabbed two acquaintances at their Farrier Avenue home. A second charge of second-degree assault was added at the arraignment. Both are class C felonies and Menning could face up to 15 years in jail for each count.

A mandatory plea of not guilty was entered on Menning's behalf by Madison County Public Defender Bill Roth.

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"I could tell you that," said Menning, wearing a orange Madison County Jail outfit, and speaking over Roth and Eppolito throughout the proceeding. "I haven't entered a plea at all," he continued, calling the allegations against him "trumped-up charges."

The judge set bail for Menning, at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond, to which Menning replied, "Is he crazy right now?"

Roth relayed to the judge that Menning's case manager - he did not identify which agency he was receiving services from - had been having a difficult time getting ahold of him recently. Roth also expressed concern that Menning did not understand what he was saying to him when they briefly immediately prior to the proceeding.

Roth and Eppolito agreed that a competency hearing was necessary to determine his mental state and his ability to understand what is going on in court. He is scheduled to return to Oneida City Court Feb. 3.

Meanwhile, one of the men that he attacked remains hospitalized. Gordon Skadra, of 225 Farrier Ave., is still in stable condition at St. Elizabeth's Hospital where he's being treated for a stab wound to the upper left chest that caused internal injuries and a brief loss of consciousness.

Police say Skadra went to visit Menning at his Main Street home New Year's Day to have coffee, but when he arrived Menning chased him away. After he returned home, he heard a knock on his door and opened it to find Menning, who then stabbed him. Another person living at the Farrier Avenue residence, 58-year-old George Bardo entered the porch and was stabbed twice in the chest. Bardo was treated and released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital Jan. 2.